African American Challenges In Higher Education

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African American Challenges in Higher Education
In the United States, African American males face numerous societal challenges including discrimination, high rates of unemployment, mass incarceration, poverty, and lack of access to mental and physical health services (Gee, Ryan, Laflamme, & Holt, 2006). Some other factors are instituionalized, systemic schooling inequities, such as tracking standardized test scores, and tracking, or assigning African American males to classroms where lower-academic achievement is expected (Mitchell & Stewart, 2012). These societal challenges impede upward mobility and success. One way to achieve success is to obtain a college education because it provides an avenue for individuals to gain skills and competencies …show more content…
Moreover, African American male completion rates are lower than all female groups and the lowest among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States (Harper, 2012). The six-year graduation rate for African American males attending public colleges and universities (2008 starting cohort) was 35.4 percent compared to 58.2 percent for White males, 47.3 percent for Hispanic males, 65.6 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 37.9 percent for American Indian/Alaska Native males (48.1 percent across four cohorts of undergraduates that participated in the research (NCES, IES, U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Even though African American males are attending college, there persistence and graduation has not been the same as their peers. At times, it can be hard for these students to be retained or to stay in …show more content…
Even when universities are successful in recruiting African American males, they are not as successful in retaining and graduating them. Retention and graduation rates are led by White females followed by White males, African American females, and then African American males (Musu-Gillette, Robinson, McFarland, KewalRamani, Zhang, & Wilkinson-Flicker, 2016). African American males are enrolling in college, but their persistence to graduation decreases significantly when compared to other groups of students (Musu-Gillette, Robinson, McFarland, KewalRamani, Zhang, & Wilkinson-Flicker, 2016). Graduation rates were 65% for White females, 62% for White males, 45% for African American females, and 35% for African American males. (Musu-Gillette, Robinson, McFarland, KewalRamani, Zhang, & Wilkinson-Flicker, 2016). In addition to the social and economic issues facing African American males in the United States, some experience microaggressions and
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